Slipper



V- 1940- J. LANGFELDER 2,220,722

SLIPPER Filed Jan. 13, 1939 Wm-PPMO; B f wen/0r I JOSE-PH LANGFELPE'KPatented Nov. 5, 1940 UNITED s o-FF-icE a SLIPPERL JosepliLangfelder,.senpuis Mo. Application January 13, 1939; Serial 'N'o. -250,-723

-1 olaim- (o1. sc -9i This invention relates to'- improvements inwearing apparel, and more particularlyto slippers that are primarilyintended for use for extremely short periods, as for example for over- 5night in a-hotel while traveling, for locker room service going to'iorfrom the showers, for bathing pools, and for many other purposes andplaces needless to enumerate, butiwhich will suggest themselves to,those skilled. in the art to 10 which-this invention: appertains.

One. of. the objects of this invention is to construct a slipper of thekind described, of some relatively; cheap but durable material, such aspaper, so that if desired, the slippers may be dis- 15 carded after buta single use. I

Another object of. the invention is to form a slipper for such temporaryusage, of paper throughout,'jbut of; different kinds or types of paperat various portions of the slipper, using the types of paper best suitedfor the purposes of those portions of the slipper, and to this end, Ihave so constructed the slipper, that although the upper of the same isextremely stretchable or expansible so as to easily conform to the 25shape of the wearers foot, yet the sole piece is made of a much stifferpaper so that pebbles or minor irregularities in the floor wherein theslipper is used, will not make walking thereon uncomfortable.

30 A further object of my invention is to make a paper slipper, in whichthere is waterproofing of such nature that the slipper will serve for atleast its temporary usage even in places which are quite wet, thisWaterproofing being within the foot-engaging surfaces of the slipper soas not to contact with the foot to stain the latter or otherwiseinterfere with the full usability of the slipper.

An added object of this invention is to secure 40 the upper piece of theslipper to the sole piece of the same, by stitching, and whereby suchstitching acts as a non-skid element on the tread surface of theslipper, the stitching being overcast or otherwise brought to overlapthe side 40 edge of the slipper so as to provide the required roughnessthereabout to prevent slippage, but in addition, the stitching ispreferably treated with some abrasive or highly slip-resistingsubstance, such as powdered pine resin.

50 Other objects of the invention are to provide a paper slipper that isneat and simple in construction, extremely cheap, that is well adaptedto have any advertising message imprinted or otherwise applied thereon,which will give good 55 service for temporary use, which will stacktightly and neatly, and'which will be otherwise satisfactory andefficient foruse Wherever deemedj applicable.

' li/Iany other objects and advantages of the construction herein shownand described will be obvious'to those skilled in the art to which thisinvention appe'rtaina-from the disclosures herein given.

Tothis'end, my invention consists in thenovel construction,- arrangementand combination of parts herein' sh'ownand'described, and the usesmentionedtas will be more clearly pointed out in the claimthe'reunto.appended.

In the drawing, wherein like reference characters indicate like'gorcorresponding-1 parts throughout the views, .v

Eigurecl'isaperspective view of the improved slipper;

. Figure-2 is a transverse cross-sectional view of the same, takensubstantially along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, and showing the upper inboth its inigial fiat position and in its expanded position;

Figure 3 is a transverse cross-sectional view, taken substantially alongthe line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Referring more particularly to the drawin wherein I have illustrated apreferred embodiment of my invention, there is shown a paper slipperprimarily adapted and intended for a single or a very limited use, andcomprising a sole piece I of a general conformation approximating thatof the sole of the foot, and an upper piece 2 superimposed over the toeportion of the sole piece and which, together with the latter forms apocket for receiving the toe portion and forward portion of the foot.

The upper is made so that it will stretch and conform to the shape ofthe foot inserted within the slipper, and for this purpose I have foundthat crepe paper is ideal, care being taken that a crepe paper is usedthat has a high degree of expansibility.

The securement for attaching the sole and upper together is preferablystitching 3, the same being best accomplished byovercasting or bindingthe superimposed edges of the sole and upper along the slipper edge, andwherein the thread of the stitching will preferably project slightly, tothe degree desired, and depending upon the thread gauge, beyond thetreadsurface of the sole piece and will thus provide sufficient roughness orridges to act as a non-skid element for the slipper sole, to minimizeslippage on wet or polished surfaces.

To further increase the non-skid feature of the slipper, the thread ofthe stitching may be treated with some suitable material that is highlyfrictional and slip-resistant, such as pine resin, for instance, thismaterial being either applied throughout the thread, or only on theportion of the latter on the under side of the sole, as preferred, thiscoating being indicated at 4.

The sole of the slipper should be of sufficient stiffness to makewalking comfortable, and yet not too heavy to unduly increase the costof the article, and I have found that paper that is not stretchable orexpansible is quite efficient for the purpose.

Although the slipper as hereinbefore described might well be adapted foreconomical and efficient service in most instances, yet I have found itadvisable to make the same still more serviceable, by making the samesomewhat waterproof,

so that the slipper can be worn in places that are quite wet and yet notbecome too soggy for its intended use.

In order to reduce the cost of making the slipper, I have incorporatedthe feature of waterproofing with that of reinforcement, and to thatend, I make the upper piece of the slipper of a pair of like thin piecesof crepe paper, with a layer of waterproof adhesive therebetween to bondthe pair of paper pieces together into substantially a single element.It is obvious that a. waterproofing of this nature, as of asphaltum orsimilar substance that will not interfere with the stretchability of theupper, will both waterproof the part, and act as a reinforcementtherefor, and as this waterproofing substance is between the twin layersof paper, there is no possibility of staining or otherwise marring thefoot or clothing.

The sole piece of the slipper is similarly constructed, of a pair oflike, thin pieces of paper that are not very stretchable, with a layerof bonding waterproofing 5 between layers of the sole material. As inthe construction of the upper piece, this waterproofing bonding layer isat once a waterproofing and a reinforcement, and is entirely below thefoot-engaging surface of the sole member of the slipper.

When constructed, the uppers are in their flat or unstretched condition,and will appear as in full lines in Fig. 2, but may be stretched,somewhat as indicated in dotted lines in said Fig. 2, to permit theinsertion of the foot of the wearer into the slipper. This constructionpermits easy packaging of the slippers and economical shipping andstoring, as a minimum of height is taken by a large number of pairs ofslippers.

Having thus described my invention, it is obvious that variousimmaterial modifications may be made in the same without departing fromthe spirit of my invention; hence I do not wish to be understood aslimiting myself to the exact form, arrangement, combination andconstruction of parts shown, except as limited by the state of the artto which this invention appertains, and the claim hereunto appended.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

An apparel slipper comprising a flexible very thin sole member laminatedof a pair of opposed. paper elements with a layer of water-proofingmaterial therebetween; and a very thin expansible upper member in theshape of a vamp portion only secured to said sole member and laminatedof a pair of opposed expansible crepepaper sheets with a layer ofwater-proofing material therebetween.

JOSEPH LANGFELDER.

